Altria Group Raises Quarterly Dividend

Altria Group (MO: 20.82 +0.24%) announced Thursday that its Board of Directors has approved a 6% increase in their quarterly dividend to $.34 per share.

Altria’s current high dividend yield now stands at 7.5%.

The dividend will be payable on October 9, 2009 to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2009. The ex-dividend date is September 11, 2009.

Since the beginning of 2009, Altria’s shares have gained over 21% and have outperformed the 13% gain in the S&P 500 index.

Last month, the cigarette maker reported second quarter earnings increased 9%. They also increased their full year earnings guidance given the company’s strong performance in the first half of 2009.